Taijiquan master Yang Luchan: break into the capital, Yang Luchan battle what skills?

Yang Lu Chan broke into the capital and "Buku" must be a battle, and will not be only one, because the Manchu flag people practicing "Buku", up to the royal relatives, down to the ordinary flag people, abound, this is the Qing dynasty's founding of the state The first time I saw this, it was a very good thing that I was able to do it.

The practice of Buku, there is a huge mass base, there will be a large number of masters, not to mention, the Qing Dynasty has its own professional national team - good wrestling camp.

In Beijing, the home base of the flagmen of the Qing state, there is no doubt that Buku masters are encountered everywhere. Buku is the Manchu language, the Han Chinese call it wrestling, although each have their own stunts, but the big road is similar.

In the 1840s, Yang Lu Chan came to Beijing, despite the introduction of his friend Wu Clarification, but at this time Wu Clarification is only a just stay in the capital to work at the grass-roots level of the civil service, the career is just starting, even if the peak of its official position is only a bureau cadres, in the center of the middle, naturally, there is no heavenly skills. What's more, Han civil servants in the unit to be shorter than Manchu civil servants a head. Wu clarified to Yang Lu Chan recommended a living job no problem, want to be among the upper class, Yang Lu Chan must rely on their own, rely on their own skills.

People familiar with today's taijiquan path, have seen today's self-proclaimed "taijiquan masters" warriors hold back the skills of the people, all have doubts, a hundred decades ago, if the masters are also with this skill to break into the world, is not it going to be the Manchurian Bukku beat to Java!

So, what kind of fighting techniques did Yang Lu Chan use to compete with the Manchu Buku?

Breaking the perception of taijiquan techniques, one by one.

Fighting must be ready to enter a fighting position, which is the fighting style.

Fighting style not only makes the body of the martial artist in a strong state, but also conducive to attack, defense, transfer, and protection of their own vital parts from the other side of the attack. Fighting style should be in line with the tactical requirements of "to treat each other with silence, to wait for the labor; static is to store strength, quietly observe the change; internal solid spirit, external show of ease".

The fighting styles of traditional Chinese martial arts are as follows:

1. high three-body step to fist style

2. high virtual step to close the palm style

3. half-horse stance to open the palm style

Among them, the high three-body step to the fist style is commonly used in today's fighting arena, more or less according to the individual's fighting habits have changed, but never deviated from the basic principles of the fight.

The high three-body step boxing style is commonly used in today's fighting arena.

So what kind of fighting style did Yang Lu Chan use? Take a look at the photos of Yang Chengpu's fights in the Republic of China: Lifting the hand up and waving the pipa with the hand.

Compare this to the fighting styles of Chinese wrestling.

The fighting style of the Chinese wrestling technique is generally known as the "wrestling frame".

The upper body into a semi-slant, two legs slightly bent; two feet and shoulder width, the upper body slightly forward, the two fingers loose and together into a loose fist shape, the upper hand in front, the bottom hand in the back, sinking shoulders and dropping elbows, the two hands are high but the nose, low but the mouth, so that for the closed door out of the frame of the upper body posture. Then take a half step forward with one foot, toes slightly inward, legs slightly bent. The top hand is in front, the bottom hand is in the back; the front foot is virtual, the back foot is real. The back foot is the bottom stance. The center of gravity of the body is supported by the front foot, which carries 40% of the body weight, and about 60% of the body weight is supported by the back foot. The left foot in front is called the left wrestling frame, and the left hand must be in front; the right foot in front is called the right wrestling frame, and the right hand must be in front. The hand in front is called the top hand (top handle) and the hand further back is called the bottom hand (bottom handle).

How similar! In fact, Bagua Palm, Xingyiquan and other internal martial arts use the three-body style as a fighting style.

According to modern research on the history of taijiquan, it is generally believed that Yang's taijiquan has gone through the evolution of the frames of Yang Lu Chan's small frame, Yang Banhou's medium frame, and Yang Chengpu's large frame. The small stance is often referred to as the use stance, which is the stance that is closest to the actual combat position. In fact, we can look at the modern fighting field, used to fight the frame are high center of gravity, posture small, because it facilitates the movement, to facilitate the shortest, the most energy-saving, the fastest way to change the action stance. An action posture is not adapted to the actual combat, the fighting field is the most effective way to verify.

Taijiquan in the "lifting the hand on the style" and "hand waving pipa", suspected to be Yang Lu Chan on the enemy's left and right fighting style, more than a century of rehearsals, people's new way of interpreting the technology to cover up the original appearance.

Tai Chi boxers have their own way of saying boxing, here only to mention the upper hand potential as an example to see how the boxers to explain it.

"Taijiquan body with the book" about the use of the upper hand style is: the other side of the right side of the strike, I turned to the right peak, the two hands to each other in the lift together, is a force, the two wrists lifted to the wrist with the other side of the wrist, elbow and contain the joints. ...... Ti-Shang Style is flexible, the left hand can be changed into an arrow-quiver hand to respond to the enemy, the left and right hands can be changed into a squeezing hand to squeeze out, and also can be changed into a stroking hand, all with a static waiting for the movement, due to the change of the enemy. Ideas and points of strength in the heart of the two palms.1

Yang Chengfu explains: the boxing method varies, such as A single whip style, such as B holding the left fist to the straight hit, A containing the chest of the hands to a force, placed on the left shoulder of the B, the front and bottom of the sinking hit, will be knocked down to sit on the ground. This is the use of the hand-raising technique. There are two ways to use the lifting hand: lifting up to hit and sinking down to hit.1

This is a way to describe the use of Taijiquan techniques in martial arts.

Since Yang's explanation began, subsequent emerging methods of explaining the use of taijiquan techniques began to follow the trend. This includes the interpretations of Chen's Taijiquanist Chen Xin and others, whose theories appeared later than Yang's. Yang Chengpu's large frame taijiquan, the frame is wide and low, has been the contemporary style of people practicing taijiquan, is the Republic of China period to the public to promote the martial arts movement after the transformation of taijiquan style, it is more suitable for fitness exercises, away from the actual combat gradually far away.

Since Yang Chengpu, these taijiquan masters have never experienced a real battle in a real field, and their understanding of the movements is based on their own rational imagination of the movements. This imagined use of stances is right? All right, just look at how the interpretation of the move itself is reasonable, but only after the field of countless times of sharpening, in order to put the effective to stay, the ineffective eliminated.

After all, it's one thing to talk about boxing, it's another to fight on the field.

How similar to the hand-waving pipa and the lifting of the hand, more than a hundred years of interpretation of the set as the center of training, so that our descendants have forgotten that the ancestors of Yang Lu Chan's taijiquan is the basic set of technical combat.

His techniques are contained in sets of only thirty or so technical movements. And the wrestling technique, which is called the most practical by modern people, also has simple sets to practice. Practice routines are auxiliary exercises, human confrontation is the main body. The world's technical arts, some do not have sets, some only simple sets, technical combat is the core of them.

Yang Luchan's technical skills in the throw method of wrestling occupies an important position, "throw and put" skills is his technical specialty, from his technical movements can be seen.

Let's extract the appearance of Yang's Taijiquan's technical movements and return to its original reality.

First of all, let's look at the common use of the "reverse monkey".

"Inverted chu monkey" is the name of Yang's Taijiquan, Chen's Taijiquan is "inverted roll red", and today it is commonly known as "inverted roll humerus", which means the same thing, a movement.

Today's explanation of its role in combat is:

"Reverse Rolling Brachialis" style is a step back, "embracing the knee and step" style, its main technique is to retreat as an advance, defending and attacking at the same time. If the other side step by step to force, right and left hand rounds of fierce attack, I am retreating while slapping its foot or hand, another palm at the same time hit the other side of the face or chest, or step back with the left hand left hand to open the right fist, step back with the right right hand right hand to open the other side of the left fist, and at the same time with the other hand (fist) to hit the other side of the chest.2

Generally, it is believed that the left and right inverted scrolling humerus is a kind of Tai Chi Chuan palm, Tai Chi Chuan left and right inverted scrolling humerus is the practical use of retrogression and defense. The actual usage is to step back in defense while the left and right palms are pushed forward. This is to take for granted the idea of striking in martial arts to interpret the movements of taijiquan. Because it does not fully explain why in this action, "one hand from the shoulder forward force, one hand from the bottom of the backward lead" strange method of exercise.

Taijiquan master Fu Qingquan demonstrated the "inverted chuzhu monkey" practical use, but can fully explain the movement of the two hands. Indeed, inverted chuzhu brachialis is actually a kind of wrestling. The two hands together to pull, with the waist as the fulcrum, to complete the technique of front fall.

Then analyze the practical use of the knee-wrapping stance.

Taijiquan Body Usage Book The usage of this style is: If the opponent strikes from my left side with his hand or in the middle and lower part of my left side, I will turn my left hand up to my chest to the left outward to open the opponent's hand or foot, and then press my right hand to the opponent's chest. This is the first defense and then hit, even defense with the method.1

If you think that its role is to push the palm, then the "embrace the knee" becomes meaningless, back to the root, it is in fact a kind of embrace the waist power to the left rotation of the wrestling.

The explanation of the "knee-wrapping step" in Chen's Taijiquan re-understands the true meaning of the "knee-wrapping step". It is likewise an over-the-shoulder fall.

Similarly, the movements that can be misunderstood as martial arts strikes are the Range Sparrow's Tail, Like a Seal, Wild Horse Separating Mane, Diagonal Flying Style, Moving Block Punch, White Crane Shining Wings, Holding Tiger Returning to the Mountain, Crossing Tigers, Needle at the Bottom of the Sea, Cloud Hands, and so on for the same reason.

Yang Lu Chan's throwing and wrestling techniques, in order to throw forward more skills, there is no lack of wrestling to the left and right.

Therefore, in the match against Buku, just from the analysis of the individual characteristics of the techniques, Yang Lu Chan used techniques derived from wrestling, incorporating punching and kicking techniques, as well as through the techniques of leading, pulling, and pressing to make the opponent lose balance in order to realize their own throwing techniques. Yang Lu Chan's talent and hard work, and Master Chen Chang Xing's unique training methods, paved the way for Yang Lu Chan to finally be able to defeat the Bukku competitors.

All along, those taijiquan practitioners have been practicing taijiquan routines and taijiquan push hands as their main training method, even those who are taijiquan masters. The so-called more skill, is the taijiquan push hands of the strength of cutting.

A large number of modern combat experiments, has proved that those things can not be used for human confrontation.

Yang Lu Chan's techniques are certainly related to today's taijiquan sparring techniques, but they are not exactly like today's taijiquan sparring techniques with the passage of time. Since Yang's Taijiquan began, the interpretation of Taijiquan's technical movements has become closer and closer to the martial arts method of striking and away from its technical nature of wrestling, and instead Chen's Taijiquan has retained a more primitive use of the technique. This shift in the interpretation of technical striking methods hints at one side of the way in which taijiquan arose.

Buku, Yang Lu Chan's largest and most extensive opponent, Yang Lu Chan won the capital to have a foothold in Beijing, if it is the opposite, we can imagine that the grassroots Yang Lu Chan even if there is a martial arts clarification of the recommendation, but also just to win the crowd a laugh, hit the road back to the house.

In the 1840s, Beijing was full of idle aristocrats, the children of the eight banners, and there was no shortage of spectators in the large city of Beijing, Yang Lu Chan could not beat Buku, and the history of the spread of taijiquan would be rewritten.

Early Taijiquan sparring techniques, if it is really called Taijiquan, cool like wrestling. It was this technique that Yang Lu Chan relied on to gain a foothold in Beijing.

Notes:

1 See Yang Chengfu, Shao Qiqing. Taijiquan physical use of the whole book [M]. Beijing: Beijing Science and Technology Press 2016

2See Baidu Encyclopedia, "Inverted Rolling Humerus"